In the line of duty
by Whyeren
Summary: The planet of Necromunda. An industrial planet producing munitions for the Imperial Guard across the galaxy. The capital city of Hive Primus. Below it's high rising spires and great forges, lies an underhive overflowing with violence, gangs and heresy. It is up to the Adeptus Arbites to stamp out the first signs of heresy and try to maintain at least some semblance of order.


**AN: Welcome to the second fanfiction I have posted to this site. Hopefully this will be better written and more enjoyable than my first attempt. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments don't hesitate to leave a review or send me a message. I hope you all enjoy. If anyone has played Necromunda, some of this will be familiar to you**

"You have been accused in the Emperor's Name of the crime of heresy. Your pleas will not be heard and may you find redemption in death, heretic" The crack of a bolt pistol rung out in dirty streets of the Hive Primus underhive. Arbitrator Calderis didn't flinch as blood splattered against his chest as the feeble heretic's head disappeared in an eruption of blood, the lifeless body slumping back against the wall. The Proctor who had carried out the execution surveyed his handiwork for a second before turning back to the two Arbitrators who had joined him on a routine patrol of the Necromunda capital city of Hive Primus was infamous for its gang controlled lower levels, rife with heresy and corruption. There were currently 200 members of the Adeptus Arbites on the planet of Necromunda. It was the job of the Arbites to oversee the local enforcers, root out heresy and punish any breaking the Lex Imperialis. This was a monumental task. Calderis has found the heretic skulking outside a dilapidated warehouse typical of the underhive, his allegiance clearly states by the chaos undivided symbol branded onto his bare chest. The very fact that people displayed such allegiances so openly disturbed Calderis slightly, it showed how little order there was in the underhives of Necromunda although in reflection there was little the planetary governors could do.

The warehouse was a squat, rectangular building squashed between crumbling dwellings, the usually crowded streets were now empty, and eerily quiet. The presence of an Arbiter squad was more than enough to get even the most bloodthirsty criminals into hiding. Before his execution, the heretic had been searched. He was carrying a disposable handgun and what seemed to be some form of recruitment card for house Goliath, obviously recently recruited, this naive this new recruit was, openly showing such blasphemous leanings. Leaving the corpse by the side of the road, the Proctor, known only as Altris spoke up through the vox caster built into his helmet that him and the two Arbitrators were sharing "The warehouse, where you find one such criminal, there are always more to be found" Calderis and the other Arbitrator Calderis had met briefly known as Duval checked their combat shotguns and power mauls before giving the Proctor a simple nod.

The Proctor, flanked by the two Arbitrators advanced towards the warehouse, stopping on front of the rusted doors of the warehouse and prepared themselves. After sharing another nod the Proctor stepped back and kicked the rusted gates, the gates shook visibly from the first kick and after the second, with a resounding crash the gates fell inwards into the warehouse. "In the name of the Emperor, all those present must immediately present themselves fro inspection, any weapons will be thrown to the floor. Any resistance will be met with swift punishment" The proctor shouted, miniature amplifiers on his helmet raising his voice to twice its normal volume as he strode confidently into the warehouse, Calderis and Duval following swiftly.

They were met with the sight of a large gathering of gangers, Calderis immediately identified them as Goliath members, most of the warehouse inhabitants being large men, several sporting mohawks of various colours and elaborate face piercings. Calderis quickly counted twenty men, all clustered around several burning braziers in the center of the warehouse. The men recoiled from the shock of the Arbiters entrance but quickly recovered and stared at the three Arbiters "But sirs, we weren't doing nothing wrong!" Protested one man missing several teeth near the front of the group, looking around at the men around him for support, several others echoing his cry. The proctor, seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating repeats himself "This is your last chance, form a line and present yourselves for inspection" He said confidently, Calderis and Duval nervously fingering their shotguns. "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir" Said the largest man of the group, towering above the rest, clearly an illegal drugs user noted Calderis mentally. He slowly looked at the men around him, obviously the ringleader before staring back at the Proctor "This is what we think of your Lex Imperialis" He said quietly before drawing an autopistol from a pocket in his jacket and aiming it at the Proctor, the other men around him aiming a mixture of autopistols, some antique designed nosed revolvers and even some brandishing knives in the direction of the Arbiters "Leave while you still can" The ringleader said confidently, clearly believing in the overwhelming numbers he possessed.

"You dare defy the Adeptus Arbites? By doing so you defy the Emperor, and you will die for your rebellion" The proctor said before raising his bolt pistol and firing at the ringleader, the rocket propelled round hitting him square in the chest and detonating, leaving a hole the size of a human fist in his chest, the ringleader fell back, hitting the ground with a thud and the gang members around him stared in shock before raising their assortment of weaponry and opened fire at the Arbiters, hoping to avenge their leaders death. The Proctor immediately took an imperial guard pattern frag grenade from his belt and tossed it into the rebels where it exploded a second later. Six rebels disappeared in the explosion, splatters of blood and limbs scattered across the floor where the confident gangers had stood a second before. Calderis and and Duval opened fire with their shotguns, the blasts tearing through the gangers who were becoming even more desperate with their sporadic firing. Although wild and inaccurate and few rounds from the autopistols did meet their targets. Calderis stepped back with a grunt as several rounds impacted his carapace armour but only left scratches or mild dents, the low quality ammunition not penetrating the well made Arbiter carapace armour.

After a short but bloody firefight, the Arbiters surveyed the results of their work. Twenty Goliath gangers lay dead, several in unidentifiable parts, others missing large chunks of their torso from shotgun blasts. The bodies were piled up in the center of the warehouse and Calderis threw an incendiary grenade into the pile, the bodies being engulfed in flames and slowly incinerated. The proctor made a quick note of the body count before walking out of the warehouse with Calderis and Altris, leaving the warehouse as it is as a brutal reminder of the emperors judgment for any Goliath members who would enter the warehouse later. The Arbiters were mostly unharmed, all three of them had taken several autopistol rounds but their armour had resisted the impact, leaving possible bruises but that was the extent of their wounds.

After counting ammunition, supplies and armour condition the Proctor decided that they would make the long journey back through the underhive to the Precinct Fortress located at the top of the Upperhive. Every world had a Precinct Fortress, the size of the world reflecting the size of the Fortress and the amount of Arbiters permanently stationed there. Every Hive City on Necromunda had a Precinct Courthouse and the Precinct Fortress in the capital city of Hive Primus was a true fortress, a towering fortified black building containing armories, a courthouse, medical stations and many other facilities the Arbiters can use to assist themselves. It took many hours for Calderis Altris and Duval to reach the Precinct Fortress through the underhive. Luckily they weren't opposed, news of the Arbiter's actions were spreading fast. Once inside the fortress they quickly ate a standard rations pack each, serviced their weapons if necessary and repaired any damage to their armour before heading into the main hall of the fortress where the other Arbiters currently inside were gathering.

The Judge, the highest ranking Arbiter in the Precinct assembled the Arbiters, including Altris Duval and Calderis in rows in the main hall and surveyed the men under his command before speaking. The judge was an older man of around 40, his hair was beginning to gray and his scarred face showed the results of many years of service for the Imperium, the fact he was still alive showed how skilled he was in his line of work. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking up in a gruff, low voice.

"Arbiters. I have summoned you here today to inform you of details concerning the threat posed to us by gangs inhabiting the underhive. There are six main gangs who have come to prominence. Firstly are those known as the Cawdor. These are men dedicated to the Imperial Creed and actively hunt mutants and heretics. Although we do support these actions, they are fanatical and if they do cause problems they are as guilty as any other scum. The Delaque are assassins, often seen wearing large coats to hide concealed weaponry. The Escher are practically entirely female group who often come into conflict with the Goliaths. The Goliaths who a patrol of our Arbiters had a run in with earlier today, he said with a nod to Altris Duval and Calderis, are a male group. They are large men who favor strength over intelligence. They often take advanced steroids to gain respect and are fierce but stupid fighters. The Orlocks are a group of miners, who opposite the Delaques, resulting in several assaults and fights in the streets of the lower hive. Finally we have the Van Saar. The Van Saar are a wealthy group who make technological goods mostly. They sell them for high prices to the upper class citizens and the Imperial Guard favor them for recruitment. With these gangs growing in size, there will undoubtedly be conflict between them, and where there is large amounts of violence, heresy is never far behind. Expect an increase in violence and attacks. Be vigilant brothers. Dismissed"

His address finished, the commander left the room, leaving the room silent. Being a member of the Adeptus Arbites was not social job and after sharing a quick word with a comrade, one by one the Arbiters filed out, either to catch some sleep, clean their weapons or go on guard duty. Calderis left the room and slowly made his way through the bleak hallways of the fortress, entering one of the identical dormitory rooms. He said a quick prayer to the Emperor before removing his armour and weapons, placing them down next to his spartan bed before laying down and closing his eyes, trying to catch some sleep while he could.


End file.
